Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 2592 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to make an appropriation for sexual assault services to the Department of Health (DOH).

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu, Planned Parenthood of Hawaii, the Sex Abuse Treatment Center, Child and Family Service, the YWCA Kauai, the YWCA Hawaii, the Hawaii Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and one individual.

Testimony in opposition of this measure was received from the DOH.

Your Committee finds that providing and maintaining access to comprehensive services is the most effective community response to sexual assault. The funding request of $787,900 will help sustain emergency medical care, 24-hour coverage for crisis intervention and outreach services, therapy services, comprehensive sexual assault awareness and prevention and education programs, and coordinated planning for standardized, sexual assault services statewide.

Your Committee further finds that without this funding for sexual assault services, service providers statewide cannot continue to provide the comprehensive, confidential, and standardized sexual assault services that are essential to our communities.

Your Committee finds that a significant portion of domestic violence is sexual assault. Therefore, your Committee has amended this measure to reflect that fifty per cent of the appropriation amount is to come from the domestic violence prevention special fund. Your Committee also requests that the Senate Committee on Ways and Means raise the budget ceiling this year for this purpose.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2592, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2592, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.